Short Fiction

I've been writing fiction since I was eight or nine. I wrote several (really, really bad) science fiction and fantasy stories, a few of which appeared in my high school literary magazine, and I continued writing through college. It wasn't until my junior year in college (1973) that Denise and my best friend at the time (and fellow aspiring writer) Earl House convinced me that I should send out some of the stories collecting dust in my desk drawer. Under their continued insistence, I finally did so. Like everyone else, I collected enough rejection slips to paper a small room, but about a year and a half later, I also sold my first story...

After 1978, though, my short work started appearing at longer and longer intervals. In 1979, I started writing my first novel, SLOW FALL TO DAWN, which sold in 1980 and was published in 1981. Since then, most of my creative efforts have gone into novels. Nearly all the short fiction I wrote from 1987 - 1995 was for the WILD CARDS series. After the WILD CARDS series folded (temporarily, as it turns out), I experienced a five-year hiatus in short fiction (1996-2000). In a way, I regret that. I like writing short stories. I really do.

The good news is that more recently, I've started to write short fiction again, thanks mostly to invites from anthology editors. Given my schedule, I rarely have the 'extra' time to set a novel aside for a bit and write something shorter, but I've been trying to make the effort... And as of 2008, “S.L. Farrell” is writing some short fiction as well.

With the advent of e-publishing, I've put out two collections of my short fiction for sale in as ebooks...

A TAPESTRY OF TWELVE TALES is a collection of twelve short stories and novelettes, originally published between 1982 and 2009, including "You, by Anonymous," selected for Rich Horton's "Best of the Year" anthology.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

"Tapestry"

"Green Stone"

"Among the Pack, Alone"

"Evening Shadow"

"Flamestone"

"Chaos Theory"

"Staying Still"

"They Also Serve"

"Transformation"

"Sweeter Far Than Flowing Honey"

"The Gods of Every Other Wednesday Night" (available separately for 99 cents on amazon | B&N | or from Apple iBooks)

"You, by Anonymous"

Each story is prefaced by an introduction giving background on the story and its genesis. These dozen stories span fantastic worlds and universes, everything from the medieval past to the far future

A RAIN OF PEBBLES for the first time collects all of Stephen Leigh's "Alliance Universe" short fiction in one place. The Alliance Universe was also the setting for the "Hoorka Novels" (SLOW FALL TO DAWN, DANCE OF THE HAG, and A QUIET OF STONE), and also several short stories, including the title story, "A Rain of Pebbles," which was chosen as Best Short Story of the Year by the readers of Analog Magazine. The short stories and novelettes included in this collection are:

"Answer In Cold Stone"

"Encounter"

"A Rain of Pebbles"

"The Mask of Night On His Face"

"Chaos Night"

"In Darkness Waiting"

"When We Come Down"

"Shaping Memory"

Each story is prefaced by a brand new introduction reflecting on the story and how it came to be written. Enter the Alliance Universe, where strange creatures and stranger worlds await.